


Bloodied Roots

by ElasticElla



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Ableist Language, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Dark, F/F, Mention of attempted rape, touch of berica, touch of sciles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 10:15:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1301239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After meeting Kira the wood nymph, Lydia, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, decides to break her oath of virginity. This tale tracks the fallout.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bloodied Roots

**Author's Note:**

> This is a loose mythological fusion (I've clearly altered some lore), and has the following replacements:
> 
> Lydia as Athena, Peter as Zeus, Derek as Hercules, Allison as Artemis, Jackson as Hephaestus, Isaac as Erichthonius, Erica as Medusa, and Kira, Scott, and Stiles are all wood nymphs. Boyd can either be read as a consensual Poseidon or as human.

Lydia thought she might be in trouble the first time she heard her laugh tinkling through a grove of peach trees. She knew she would be in trouble when the owner proved beautiful and brilliant, sparring with words and flirtatious glances. Lydia was officially in trouble, lying naked next to her sated nymph, and she pressed a kiss to her forehead. When she awoke, Lydia would see if Kira wanted to play some more, after all, she had already broken her oath, smashing it to bits wouldn't make much difference. 

Lydia had been shocked by their first debate, discussing the role gods should play in mortals’ lives. Kira had pushed that people and creatures were too often viewed as pawns, easily disposed of or transformed. Lydia argued that if they were to cut off contact, over time they would lose all virtue and they would be forced to start the world over. Surely a few mishaps was worth existence? The pair deliberated throughout the night, and as it got later, the more flirtatious the nymph became. 

Kira was unlike anyone Lydia had ever met. And as they continued to ponder away evenings together, Kira especially liked considering the space between life and death, Lydia began to question her life choices. She had always assumed her father was right about wisdom needing to be pure and untouched by desire. Peter had plenty of experiences with desire, surely he could recognize where his own mental pitfalls came from. 

And yet... Kira's logic wasn't faulty. Her arguments were sound even with her desire. Her desire itself even felt pure, not entirely selfish as the others were. She recalled Jackson distastefully; the horrid smith had tried to take her once. His seed had spilled to the ground, and when Gaia offered up the blond child, he had the gall to name her the mother. Allison had intervened, claiming her right as the goddess of childbirth, and raised Isaac as her own. She was eternally thankful to Allison, she couldn't imagine raising _his_ child.

As weeks passed, she had an increasingly difficult time restraining herself. Lydia had never wanted before, and now she knew it wasn't lessening her intelligence. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous the notion seemed. If familial and platonic love didn't harm intelligence, but instead augmented it with wisdom and empathy, why wouldn't sexual and romantic love do the same? Why wasn't male chastity as valued as female? 

She brought the latter point up with Peter during one of their weekly lunches. He had spewed some nonsense about nothing being taken from a man during sex, but a woman would lose part of herself. She couldn't understand as a virgin of course, but it was better that way, she needed to rule the realm of wisdom. The underlying accusation stung, as if her body held priority over her mind; as if the only reason she was the Goddess of Wisdom was for her purity rather than brilliance. 

She went home, anger tightly wound in her breast. She trained with her two swords until it dissipated, and only disappointment remained. She took a long bath in a nearby pool, and Kira joined her. She had sex for the first time under the stars, and it was everything and nothing all at once. 

It was pleasurable and fun and all, but it wasn't life changing. Her mind hadn't suddenly crumbled to dust, and the two curled up on the bank after and discussed transformation. Kira spoke of two old lovers, Scott and Stiles; the nymphs had been attached at the hip in life, one never being seen without the other. Before death they had chosen their tree forms, two date-plum trees winding around one another. 

Kira moved in a few months later, and Lydia never preached the virtues of abstinence again. She had practically abandoned her followers, but they didn't seem hers anymore. They were following her under false pretenses, and would need to know soon. Not today though, Lydia would think, her arms wrapped around Kira, tomorrow will be better. 

Kira was in favor of talking sooner than later, but said it was Lydia's decision. Lydia had finally decided to come clean, to show her brain wasn't addled by sex, when Jackson found out. The smith was angry to put it lightly, and made sure Echo told the story many times with lurid details. By the time Lydia was waiting for Peter for their weekly lunch, he already knew. 

"Lydia, darling- I'm hurt that you didn't tell me," Peter greeted, plopping a grape in his mouth. 

Lydia raised a brow, "I would have expected you to notice, doubtless my mind has withered and my domain is no longer being ruled properly." 

"Your thoughts are clouded at least Lydia, I've never heard you so spiteful," Peter said.

Lydia's lips thinned, "Tone doesn't undermine truth Peter, you're avoiding my point." 

"Then let me make it clear for you," Peter began, folding his hands, "you have until our next lunch to disavow her. You will tell your followers that you fell from the path of righteousness due to her feminine wiles."

Lydia's eyes flashed, "I'm not going to lie to people who worship me." 

Peter shrugged and stood up, "I don't care what you do, fix it." Lydia nibbled on a piece of cheese and left the mount, she would have to tell them everything.

The following day she went to her temple, and found women ransacking it. She tried to explain, but they only threw broken chunks of the pillars at her. She tried a smaller temple outside of Athens, the first one created for her. It had already been thoroughly desecrated, and only a mongrel remained, sniffing at the debris. She traveled for days, but she only found destroyed temples and people unwilling to listen. In one temple, she came across a pale body and dark one fucking on the altar, and she recognized the fair one as one of her old followers- Erica. She left the temple grimly chuckling, before the action would have angered her beyond belief. She gave up a few days later after someone tried to stab her, if the humans wanted to be so obtuse, they didn't need her. She certainly didn't need them. 

Lydia returned to her home, cuddling with Kira on their bed. The sun was setting, it's last glow shining into their room, highlighting Kira's sharp features. She would never get over the nymph's beauty, even if she gazed upon it a thousand more times.

"Do you regret it?" Kira asked. 

Lydia kissed the question off her lips, the taste bitter, "No, never."

"What will we do now?" she asked, threading her fingers through the fiery hair. 

"I'll speak with Peter tomorrow, and then we'll go live on some island in the middle of nowhere," Lydia said with a smile. 

Kira gave a dreamy sigh, "Lets go south, I want a warm island with plenty of vegetation." 

"And fruit, don't forget that," Lydia teased, knowing her lover's sweet tooth. 

The next afternoon, Lydia climbed up Mount Olympus. The pair had packed through the morning, and Kira was just doing the finishing touches. When she got to their table, Derek was there instead of Peter, sunlight bouncing off his obscene muscles. 

"Where is Peter?" Lydia asked crisply, worry at the edge of her mind. 

"He won't be making it," Derek answered, offering her the cheese plate.

Lydia declined, "Why didn't he send a message?" 

Derek didn't answer, instead informing, "He'll be done by now." 

Suspicion grew in Lydia's mind, and she felt sick at Derek's piteous look. She hurried down the mountain, not caring for the glares she received or the pebbles she flung. She reached their house out of breath, and there in the center of the room, roots thrust through floor, was a slim fig tree. Kira's face was faintly etched into the bark, and Lydia's eyes stopped on a smug Peter. 

"Get out," Lydia snarled, drawing the sword at her hip. 

Peter raised an eyebrow, "See how hastily you're acting? You've become unfit to rule." 

Lydia laughed coldly, "Then I renounce my goddesshood, my parentage, and all of my realms. Get out of my home." 

"You can't-"

" _I just did,_ Peter. Leave," she hissed. She didn't watch him go, instead she moved closer to Kira, caught within her tree. As she stood, petting her bark, she began to imagine what would force Kira to abandon her human form, and hatred clenched in her breast. She sunk to her knees and wailed, her tears dripping onto Kira's roots.

After a week of pure mourning, Lydia unpacked their home, and rethreaded her loom, beginning to weave their story. She weaved it over and over, each version perfect in a new way, but still not enough, still not sufficient. She could capture the dark gloss of her hair, but not the melody in her laughter. 

Peter came to visit her once more, because of the war.

"What more do you need Lydia? Athens will fail without you, the goddess of victory herself has asked where you are," Peter said after she informed him she wouldn't be gearing up or reclaiming her titles. 

"You have nothing to offer me Peter, and neither do the people of Athens," Lydia replied coldly. 

"How much longer do you need?" he asked softly. 

Lydia turned her burning eyes to him, "I need until her existence is taken from the unknown realm. I need until you have not betrayed me. Children have killed their parents for less, don't believe it hasn't crossed my mind."

Peter slowly backed up to the door, his self-preservation kicking in. 

"And don't return Peter, or I will kill you."

That night Lydia slept on the floor, wrapped around the base of her tree. She knew if Peter decided to kill her, he'd send Derek tonight, and she wouldn't stand a chance of winning. She just held the fig tree tighter, and pressed a light kiss to Kira's bark.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> (I [tumble](http://elasticella.tumblr.com/) with the rest of my fics.)


End file.
